The brother of Cape Dorset artists Kananginak, Paulassie and Pudlat Pootoogook, Eegyvudluk Pootoogook was not a prolific sculptor. He focused his energies instead on his work as a stonecutter and printer in the Cape Dorset printmaking studio. In a decades long career at the studio, Eegyvudluk participated in the production of many of the most important prints produced in the community including Kenojuak Ashevak’s iconic Enchanted Owl (see Lot 11). He was, however, both a highly gifted and highly original sculptor. Masterful depictions of animals from the early 1960s include the marvelous Hawk and Young (see Lot 35) and the famous Dog Spirit (see Hessel, Inuit Art, 1998, pl. 149 and elsewhere). Seated Man Sticking Out his Tongue is superbly carved and delightfully comical. We wonder whether this jolly man is simply laughing uncontrollably or if he’s participating in a “making silly faces” competition. Perhaps it’s a self-portrait! Interestingly, several of Eegyvudluk’s animal sculptures show the subjects with protruding tongues: an owl, a hare, and a spirit creature that we know of.